Beyond community violence: Loss and traumatic grief in African American elementary school children

The current study examined loss and childhood traumatic grief (CTG) in a sample of 403 African American school children in grades 6-8. Three out of four of these children reported the death of a close family member or friend, with deaths more than twice as likely to occur from illness and disease as from violence. Almost one-quarter of the children reporting a loss from any source scored in the severe traumatic grief range. After statistically controlling for witnessing violence, victimization and family violence, CTG was a significant contributor to PTSD, internalizing behavior problems, depression and poor academic achievement for girls, and particularly so for boys for whom it also predicted acting out. These data indicate that loss and traumatic grief are pervasive in the lives of these inner-city children who appear to be more affected by these events than the often-studied exposure to community violence. © Springer International Publishing 2014.